Allen says that he swore to never go back to farm work after leaving home to play basketball (his parents were sharecroppers), but he reconnected with the idea of growing food for a living while working in the Netherlands, of all places. Since going back into farming, he's gotten a Ford Foundation grant, a MacArthur "genius grant," a Kellogg foundation grant, and an honorary doctorate in agriculture from the University of Wisconsin for his sustainable urban agriculture work. Amazing stuff for a third career. Read some gardening tips Allen shared with BA here.